After a successful pilot program, Redbox parent Coinstar has announced that it will begin installing coffee-vending kiosks in existing Coinstar locations in the Northeast and on the West Coast of the U.S.

The kiosks, which will carry the brand name “Rubi”, will sell Starbuck’s Seattle’s Best Coffee for as little as $1 per cup. The machines grind fresh beans and will also make specialty coffee drinks such as mochas and lattes.

Coinstar claims that 90 percent of the participants in its Rubi pilot program said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their experience. Coinstar plans to place around 500 kiosk by the end of 2012.

How well do you think Coinstar’s Rubi kiosks will fare? Can they avoid the stigma of the terrible coffee produced by vending machines of yore?

Totally unneeded in my opinion with a Starbucks nearly everywhere. I have one shopping center near me with a Starbucks stand alone store and a Starbucks mini-store in the main supermarket, followed by another stand alone store less than 2 miles in one direction and a fourth location less than 3 miles in the other direction. Starbucks isn’t that good and has way too many locations; not to mention their cost is too high for their product. If I don’t make my own coffee at home I like to support the local coffee shops rather than the over-pushed, over-priced, over-hyped franchises.